HERMETIC STORAGE PROVIDES VALUE OPPORTUNITY FOR MAIZE IN INDONESIA

JAKARTA, INDONESIA – Indonesia intends to scale up the use of Ultra Hermetic™ technology to solve its storage problems. This was made apparent at a meeting last December 15, 2016 in Jakarta when officials of Indonesia’s Bureau of Logistics (BULOG), a major local food agency, expressed their plan to store 50 percent of their maize in GrainPro® Self-Verifying Cocoons™.

The agency is concerned about their buffer stock of maize for human and animal consumption, which is estimated at 200,000 metric tonnes (MT). The crop is typically stored for six months to a year in warehouses across the country. Despite their strict policies and standards on warehouse storage, the agency continues to encounter problems with insects and fungal contamination.

Because production is not spread out evenly, the country needs to import to address local demands.

Another is the rising cost of chicken in Indonesia. According to Eng. Alnor Limbo, GrainPro Customer Support Engineer, chicken prices rose by at least 15 percent during the last year. The price is directly affected by the supply of maize used as feed for poultry and other livestock animals.

Because production is not spread out evenly, the country needs to import to address local demands. As such, their lack of storage facilities result in poor quality maize that can’t be used as animal feed. Unable to meet demands, the price of maize goes up and this creates a chain of events that ultimately correlates to the high price of chicken. Elevating the problem is an estimated 445,000 MT of maize to be produced or imported in 2017. This prompted the agency to explore the use of hermetic technology. Previous trials of Cocoons in Indonesia from 2014 onward with rice were very promising.

The Cocoon is a gastight and watertight outdoor food storage solution with varying sizes that can store up to 1000 MT. Because it can prevent the exchange of air and moisture, it can preserve the quality of grains and seeds without using toxic fumigants. The Cocoon uses an environment-friendly technology that safely preserves dry agricultural commodities for human and animal consumption.

BULOG now uses GrainPro Cocoons for storing locally-produced rice. They currently have 10 units installed at multiple facilities throughout Indonesia. For more information about the Cocoon, visit the GrainPro website at www.grainpro.com.